First published in the Sept. 1 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
I have lived in La Cañada for more than 25 years and raised my family here.
Among the massive apartment developments that the City Planning Commission this week approved is a high-density rezoning of properties owned by St. George’s Episcopal Church. The church’s pastor, Amy Pringle, has on three occasions contacted the city with requests to rezone large parts of their properties at Foothill and Commonwealth for large apartment construction. Similar to the major traffic issues at the proposed 600 Foothill development, Commonwealth and Foothill is already one of the most heavily trafficked intersections in the city, and Commonwealth is one of the city’s busiest streets.
St. George’s economically driven push for large-scale apartment development together with the Planning Commission’s rezoning of this property for between 25-40 units per acre will have many parking and traffic impacts on the city, especially the homes immediately adjacent to St. George’s. I encourage the City Council at its Sept. 12 meeting to reject the rezoning of these properties and, if necessary, to rezone them at a lower density, which will allow the city to still meet its state building requirements.
I also encourage any concerned citizens to attend the Sept. 12 City Council meeting, when one of the most consequential decisions that our city has ever faced will be discussed.
Sue Dietel
La Cañada Flintridge
